This invention relates in general to a lubricant circuit for a compressor unit, and more particularly to embodiments of such lubricant circuit for an air compressor unit incorporating a rotary compressor of my earlier inventions as described in several of my earlier patent applications, now the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,135,864; 4,137,021; 4,137,022; 4,174,195 and 4,553,912, and in my co-pending patent application filed on Sept. 7, 1989, Ser. No. 07/404,271, all incorporated herein by reference.
In addition, this invention relates to a process of circulating any suitable lubricant, such as a suitable oil, through the lubricant circuit of the compressor unit employing an oil flooded compressor, and more particularly to embodiments of the process of circulating a lubricant in an air compressor unit incorporating an oil flooded version of a rotary compressor of my earlier inventions. The term "oil flooded" compressor shall mean herein a compressor having any suitable lubricant injected into its suction, or directly into its compression chambers, to lubricate and seal compression chambers and to internally cool the compression process.
Lubricant circuits for circulation of suitable lubricant in compressor units employing lubricant flooded rotary screw compressors, adopted specifically for air compression applications, are well known in the art. However, such rotary screw compressors employing such lubricant circulation systems pose inherent disadvantages of being difficult and costly in manufacturing, and having relatively low efficiency.
The lubricant circuit for a compressor unit and the process of circulating a lubricant of this invention relate particularly to a lubricant flooded, or lubricant injected, rotary compressor of my earlier inventions as described in my earlier patents and patent application identified above and adapted specifically for air compression applications, that overcomes these shortcomings of the rotary screw compressors.